Fluid leaking from under car

[amitmishra4]

Some background - My wife and I both drove our cars last weekend to visit her parents and we were going elsewhere before returning home so we decided to leave one of the cars in their garage to not have to drive both cars around, that would be my Model 3 and this was last Sunday.

Story begins here - This morning, 4 days later, I was trying to check on the car at 10 AM this morning and the app was stuck in 'Waking up" status so I asked my mother in law to tug on the door handle to maybe wake the car up. It did not and she was not able to open the door. She said the screen came on and showed her the animation to use the key card.

After a few hours, I checked the app again at 1 PM and the car was awake and showing 181 miles so I asked her to check again to make sure the door would open remotely. She went out and called me back in horror saying the door was now unlocked but the car had flooded the garage. I dismissed it as some AC condensation that may have been lodged in the car, but she insisted on calling me on face-time to show me the amount of fluid, and to be honest, it was way more than I expected as well. The liquid trail went from under the car and pooled by the garage door and some even made it down the driveway. I did not start the AC remotely, just unlocked it.

I just checked the app at 4 PM and I only have 168 miles left. It almost seems like the AC came on for a few hours even though my app was unable to connect to it and she was unable to open the door. Is this possible?

Question - I know there are not many fluids in the car - AC condensation, coolant (blue), 12V battery fluid (acidic), windshield washer fluid (colored). I have asked her to wipe it with a paper towel to see if there is any color to it when she gets back home but has anyone had a similar issue?

 

[CapnLoki]

Pretty sure the battery is a deep cycle AGM battery, so you can rule out battery acid.

 

[JeffK]

Most people I've seen with this, it end up being condensation.

 

[ord3r]

How humid is it where you are at? Probably cabin overheat protection kicking in and turning on the A/C. Can make a ton of condensation if it is relatively humid.

 

[03DSG]

Your AC came on at some point and stayed on for quite a while. I’m guessing by mistake with the app.

 

[insaneoctane]

The large amount of range you have lost indicates that the car spent it somewhere. Combined with the information that there is a lot of fluid under the car I would deduce that your AC has been running for hours ....

 

[dendenyc]

Probably cabin overheat protection and A/C condensation. Most evenings after sitting in the sun all day I move my car and the driveway look like she took a pi$$

 

[Uncle Paul]

As an old car guy, when I see fluids underneath a car, I still give it a taste test if the color is clear.

Easy to pretty much tell what it is with a touch on the tongue. Don't need to swallow it.

 

[RayK]

I just checked the app at 4 PM and I only have 168 miles left. It almost seems like the AC came on for a few hours even though my app was unable to connect to it and she was unable to open the door. Is this possible?

The other day while my car was sitting in my driveway (under the hot sun) I tried turning on the A/C to cool it off before driving off. The phone app appeared to have a problem with connecting with the car (waking up message; stuff greyed out) but I still tried setting the temperature at 65. When the app indicated that the A/C was off and the interior temperature was 130+ a few minutes later, I figured that with no connection, the A/C didn't turn on. 10 minutes later when I went to leave, the interior of the car was under 70. So it did receive the cool command but the app still showed no connection.

 

[Dallas701]

I have two different area underneath the car where puddle of water would formed. One was the usual place, in between driver and front passenger. The other is on the left passage side, near the wheel well. Took the car to service and they said nothing was wrong. Now I have 3 area that water has been dripping from.

 

[Trevor B]

After a few hours, I checked the app again at 1 PM and the car was awake and showing 181 miles so I asked her to check again to make sure the door would open remotely. She went out and called me back in horror saying the door was now unlocked but the car had flooded the garage. I dismissed it as some AC condensation that may have been lodged in the car, but she insisted on calling me on face-time to show me the amount of fluid, and to be honest, it was way more than I expected as well. The liquid trail went from under the car and pooled by the garage door and some even made it down the driveway. I did not start the AC remotely, just unlocked it.

Exaggerate much? Flooded? Quite the drama queen we have here ...

 

[amitmishra4]

How humid is it where you are at? Probably cabin overheat protection kicking in and turning on the A/C. Can make a ton of condensation if it is relatively humid.

I am based in Nj and it has been a little humid the last week but I should have clarified that I’m on 21.9 still and don’t yet have cabin overheat protection. I did record the car temperature was 88 degrees when I noticed the fluid/reduced range so I’m going to keep an eye on the interior temperature today to see if that is the norm, that should confirm whether it was indeed the AC.

 

[amitmishra4]

The large amount of range you have lost indicates that the car spent it somewhere. Combined with the information that there is a lot of fluid under the car I would deduce that your AC has been running for hours ....

Yes, that is a logical deduction and I’m going to monitor the trend of interior temperatures throughout the day to see if I can confirm that. I have also created a ticket with an SC to call me back since they apparently have access to the car logs and can probably tell what exactly happened. I will update the thread when they call with any information.

 

[amitmishra4]

Exaggerate much? Flooded? Quite the drama queen we have here ...

lol true, relatively speaking I guess

I was quoting my mother in law but honestly, I have never seen this much fluid drip from any other car I’ve ever owned (for any good reason). Then again, I’ve never owned a Tesla

 

[amitmishra4]

I have two different area underneath the car where puddle of water would formed. One was the usual place, in between driver and front passenger. The other is on the left passage side, near the wheel well. Took the car to service and they said nothing was wrong. Now I have 3 area that water has been dripping from.

Ha- good to hear that nothing turned up in your case. Do you happen to know what it is specifically that those different areas drain from? Upon further inspection last evening, mine seemed to be draining from the same exact two areas too.

 

[brkaus]

This should solve your problem -

Superior Pump 1/2 HP Submersible Thermoplastic Sump Pump-92570 - The Home Depot

But yes, condensation.

If the screen came on with the door handle, perhaps the AC kicked in?

 

[SwaggerWagon]

Don’t forget the AC compressor is used to cool the battery as well. If it’s hot out, it’ll use the AC without the Air Con actually being on and will make plenty of condensation from that.

Also might see condensation while supercharging even if cool outside, due to removing heat in battery from such fast charging.

 

[Dallas701]

Ha- good to hear that nothing turned up in your case. Do you happen to know what it is specifically that those different areas drain from? Upon further inspection last evening, mine seemed to be draining from the same exact two areas too.

Sorry, don't know. I should had asked. I guess I figured all was fine since they checked everything. Per service report:

Inspected coolant lines, and brake fluid lines. Verified no leaks, or abnormalities present. Verified fluid levels are good, and system functions as designed.

Here is a pic

 

[Dallas701]

Here are my other two puddles. One at the usual place between driver and front passenger seat. The other is underneath driver side, near wheel well. This is the new drip point after having service center checked lol

 

[amitmishra4]

Don’t forget the AC compressor is used to cool the battery as well. If it’s hot out, it’ll use the AC without the Air Con actually being on and will make plenty of condensation from that.

Also might see condensation while supercharging even if cool outside, due to removing heat in battery from such fast charging.

Well, although is it humid, the garage is probably no higher than low 80s through the warmest time of the day - concrete walls keep it cooler actually. Also, I noticed for the last two days, the interior temperature does not go over the low 80s mark either and when we discovered the fluids, it was in the low 80's, which is confusing again since if the AC had actually been on, the car should have cooled significantly. I have also not lost any miles or seen any fluid discharge the last two days.